Understanding The Hebrew Bible: A Reader's Guide - Hardcover

Elliott Rabin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0881258563 ISBN 13: 9780881258561

Publisher: Ktav Pub & Distributors Inc, 2006

Synopsis

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Based on his belief that people need to discover the meaning of the Bible for themselves, Rabin offers this guide to help them "navigate its passages." Administrator of an adult education center at the 92nd Street Y in New York, he is a specialist in Hebrew literature who has taught in Indiana and Kentucky as well as New York. Rabin uses non-technical language to bring together biblical scholarship, archaeology and literary analysis as the basis for his manual. He concentrates on the Hebrew Bible, differentiating it from the "Old Testament" as used by Christians, pointing out that both the order of the books and their significance are at variance. Asserting that the Bible is primarily a book of questions, the author holds that it is best approached by recognizing that it contains six types of writing: storytelling, law, history, prophecy, wisdom and poetry. A chapter is devoted to each, except for history, which is divided into sections on history in the Bible and the history of the Bible. Rabin cites and analyzes passages from the Bible, but he emphasizes the reader's responsibility for interpretation and dissection. In the end, he points the way but remains true to his objective of placing the ultimate onus on the reader. He succeeds handsomely in providing a handbook that will make it easier to grasp the Bible.
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The Hebrew Bible is Judaism's corpus of sacred writings, a collection of literary works produced by the Israelite people in ancient times. It is believed that these works were written by divine inspiration, the result of direct revelation and of prophecy in its various forms. The Bible is filled with several types of writing: storytelling, law, history, prophecy, wisdom, and poetry. Rabin posits that the Bible is not a book of doctrine and there are few statements of dogma; he believes, instead, that it is a book that imparts its religious vision mostly through literary art, stories, and poems--that the Bible's stories describe human responses to God's presence: "God speaks to people, challenging them to live a life in His image." This handbook is clearly written for the general reader and takes no particular position about the Bible's religious significance, presenting itself as one of the most enlightening studies to explore the depths and range of this holy book, and giving it contemporary relevance. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Ktav Pub & Distributors Inc
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0881258563
• ISBN 13: 9780881258561
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 250